Diamond member upgrades in Lake Buena Vista and Florida

[johnb667]

Hi everyone

I’m looking to book Hilton properties near Disney World in Orlando and had a few questions about upgrades. I’ve been a Diamond member for 10 years with around 600 nights, and I’ll be traveling with disabled children. Do you know how likely these properties are to offer complimentary upgrades to a better room in advance, based on my status and the circumstances?

Additionally, has anyone had experience with getting larger rooms or accommodations, such as extra towels and bedding, due to special needs? I’d love to hear any tips on how to approach the hotel to ensure a smooth experience for my family.

Thanks for any insights you can share!

[janed9388]

Hi,

We stayed in the HIlton Lake Buena Vista Palace a couple of years ago, points stay for 15 nights (3 x 5 for 4 night bookings), and I emailed them prior to the stay to ask if we could swap our two queen bed points room for a king plus sofa bed, and also inquired about upgrades as a gold member and they were very helpful.
They said we’d got an automatic upgrade to a Disney view room (high floor tower section), but that they would switch it to a king bed as requested, but I messaged back and asked if they could switch us to the Island section of the hotel which I thought would suit us better (it’s closer to the pool and has bigger rooms) and that was no problem, they put us in a big suite, with the largest sofa bed I’ve seen and happily supplied an extra duvet when requested (kids are happy to share a bed but not a duvet!).

As a diamond I don’t think you’d have any issues with upgrades and extra’s.

[The Savage Squirrel]

Bear in mind every man and his dog is Diamond in America where they give it away with credit cards. Your upgrade chances are better than zero but you shouldn’t expect more than a slightly better view and you certainly shouldn’t rely on booking a lower room category than the one that fulfills your needs and then assuming an upgrade will be forthcoming.

Simply contact the hotel directly as early as possible, tell them about your disabled childrens’ needs and open a dialogue about how they can best be met. No matter what your status, most hotels are helpful if you make it very easy for them to be helpful.

[e14]

A few other things to consider Diamond does not give breakfast in the US anymore – it’s a credit

As already pointed out the US is very Diamond heavy and Disney is popular so manage your expectations – you might want to think about for budgetary purposes if a rental villa might be more viable ?

There is a wealth of information here https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums

I can’t add anymore detail as the last time I stayed there was over 10 years ago, but the early park entrance was helpful, but even then the parking was $$$.

[NPWharf]

You can book a 2 queen bed room at the Waldorf Orlando on points, which at 448 sq feet was plenty big enough for three of us including a 10 year old. The diamond credit didn’t even come close to covering breakfast but there’s a cafe on site that we used instead.

[Michael C]

Just to say we found this Hilton to be great with our then 9-yr old.
Very very close to Disney Village for a stroll and free outdoor entertainment each evening.
Also, note that while there is transport to the parks, rides were very reasonable prices (for
some reason, Lyft was almost always cheaper than Uber).
While we had fun at both, we actually slightly preferred the Hilton Lake Buena Vista (stayed at both consecutively): the
Palace pool area was larger, but the hotel was definitely noisier on the whole. Lake Buena Vista
also has an Avis desk actually inside it.